


you light my red fire babe, hot white, and blue.

by Kdin



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Coney Island, M/M, Summer Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-29
Updated: 2013-12-29
Packaged: 2018-01-06 13:38:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1107498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kdin/pseuds/Kdin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coney Island used to be a magical place.</p>
            </blockquote>





	you light my red fire babe, hot white, and blue.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [comradecourt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/comradecourt/gifts).



James is balancing a glass of cold water on Steve’s head while he draws on the floor, his back leaning on the couch.

“Are you damn finished?” Bucky whines from his seat, he observed the whole process of the Brooklyn Bridge appear in a clean page of Steve’s sketchbook.

“If you spill the water on me I’ll kick your butt until it’s so sore you can’t sit.”  Steve’s voice is always a bit quieter when he’s focused.

Bucky snickers and presses the icy glass on his cheek.

It’s the fourth of July and it’s so hot they have to stay in their boxers and sleeveless white tees. Since it is Steve’s birthday and Bucky has worked so hard at the auto part factory he can afford taking him to a place both can enjoy for the whole day, or at least until Steve finishes his drawing.

“So where are we going, Buck?” Steve asks while shading East River in his picture.

“I ain’t telling,” He drinks the glass empty and pulls his shirt off his sweaty chest and moves it back and forth.

“Go get dressed; you don’t want to provoke car accidents on my birthday, do you?” Steve mocked, his eyes always fixed on his sketchbook.

“Very funny.” Bucky pats Steve’s cheek on his way out. Their room is even hotter than the living room; he puts on a pair of pants (the ones that are clean) and changes his sweaty t- shirt to one the same color but with sleeves.

The water feels like a sweet release when James spills it in his face. He closes the bathroom door and sees Steve putting on his light blue shirt over his tee. Bucky’s always envied that Steve doesn’t sweat that much.

When they finally make it outside, Steve follows Bucky around in the crowded streets, they walk past a big avenue and see a bunch of kids playing and swimming inside a monumental fountain.

It’s also Sunday, which means everybody is gone for hot weather outings. The train rattles when it takes off the station. They talk about their last experiences at their jobs on their way to Coney Island.  Steve smiles at Bucky with his head cocked to one side when he recognizes the place. Bucky grins, his chin tilts up in accomplishment.

“Do you remember any of it?” Steve looks at the window when they arrive at the boardwalk; the beach is so crowded it looks like the sand grew grass.

“Huh. I remember a little boy crying because we were lost,” Bucky lifts a brow in an amused expression, he reminisces how Steve pulled Bucky’s sleeve to find some sort of comfort while Bucky opened their way between the wave of people, assuring him that they would find Mother Superior and they’d be back home.

“You were the one that wanted to go explore!” Steve can’t hide a quiet laughter.

“And you followed me.” Bucky replies.

****

There are children shouting everywhere, it’s difficult to walk anywhere but they make it, slowly passing by Steeplechase Park.

“ _Hurry! Hurry!_ ” yells a man with a marked Brooklyn accent, “ _It’s just startin’! So hurry, hurry. Look at ‘em over! The lady without her head! Still alive!_ ”

Bucky leans in to talk close Steve’s ear so his voice can be heard over the entire clamor. "Well yeah. Who comes to see a headless corpse?”

“I don’t know, Buck. I’m pretty sure some would come.” Steve replies and both laugh.

“Sick bastards.” James imitates the man’s thick Brooklyn accent that he lacks.

 “ _There are thin ones. There are fat ones. They’re all inside!_ ”

Many of the young men in the crowd are wearing their military uniforms as if it wasn’t 70 degrees. Steve looks back at Bucky and it pains him to know he’ll soon be one of those guys, walking around in Army Service’s clothes, he can already see the hat on his head, a bit tilted to one side and his smug grin on his lips. Steve shakes off the thought and when he’s back to reality they are standing behind Brooklyn Flyer.

“Are you serious?” Steve looks up in awe, the strong sunlight burning his pupils and making impossible to see the top of the attraction.

“It’ll be fun!” Bucky doesn’t hesitate to drag him to the line.

They sit side by side on the orange bench, Bucky is balancing the swing and Steve’s toes can’t touch the floor.

“H- How much is that…? Eighty feet, A hundred twenty…?”

“You know what’s sick?” Bucky points at a wooden sign on a wall and Steve has to look at it, a painted male face with an unsettling grimace looks back at them. “ _That pill_.” His eyes squint as if the painted face was his nemesis.

Steve punches his arm gently, “’Kay, it’s a bit creepy.” The attraction lifts off, Steve loses his breath, the skyline appears more magnificent than ever and it’s beautiful. He feels the adrenaline pumping in his veins, and it’s pleasant for a moment but then his arm clutches to Bucky’s seeking support.

They spin more than enough to see Coney Island in its splendor. Steve hopes he can remember the details so he can draw the landscape in full color with acrylics and give it to Bucky as a present for his birthday. He smiles to himself and James sees it and smiles as well, he’s glad Steve is having a good time.

They’re back on solid ground. Bucky fixes his hair by running his fingers through it, Steve takes a deep breath for the twentieth time.

“I can’t believe we didn’t die,” Steve huffs. There’s something thrilling and exhilarating about surviving, about being so close to danger. The adrenaline hits him without prior notice.

“Of course we didn’t. I bet nobody’s died there.”

“I’m starving…” That morning they didn’t have breakfast, it all sort of happened until they got there, from waking up in the living room’s floor all limbs long-drawn-out, to taking cold showers and to relaxing on their couch. 

“Let’s go find us something to eat.”

****

Every snack shop has hot dogs for 10 cents or so and there’s a bunch of people all around munching greasy and delicious food while they chat loudly.  Bucky and Steve used to waste the church's tithes to fill their tummies as kids. Steve had tried so hard to stop Bucky from stealing but he knew he’d get away with it, and after their delightful junk food feast he might’ve encourage Bucky to do it again.

They reminiscence that and eat like the hungry kids/Lord’s-pickpocket-thieves they used to be.

“...and his leg appears to have been crushed by a rolled piece of steel, right?” Bucky speaks with his mouth full, he always has. “There’s a lot of blood on the floor and people are screaming,”

“What d’ya do?” Steve looks somewhat entertained on Bucky’s perspective: sipping on his lemonade and looking at him with wide eyes.

“Well I can’t do much, ya know? There are other guys helping and the paramedics come soon, so.” He makes a face in which he tilts his head and jerks his jaw in a grimace of pain. “I’m telling you, that factory is a freak show.”

Steve nods while he’s trying to swallow the big bite he took of his hot dog. Three ladies pass next to them and they smile at James with lovely charm. Bucky grins back at them, one of them traces a finger at Bucky’s shoulders.

 _For Christ's sake!_ Steve exclaims in his head and sighs. James is the kind of guy that burps shamelessly after taking a large sip of soda and the girls swoon over that.

“ _Abyssinia_.” She tells him and they leave giggling.

****

Steve’s heart skipped a beat when Bucky pointed at the Cyclone with that incomparable eagerness in his eyes. He tried to say no, he really did but when a thought gets stuck in that man’s head it’s stuck for good.

Now Steve is all dizzy and it’s difficult for him to maintain balance as he walks, Bucky is holding his upper arms to prevent him from falling, Steve walks towards a trashcan and throws up his meal. Bucky rubs soothing circles between Steve’s shoulder blades like he has done many times before when Steve gets the stomach flu.

“We should have eaten after this…” Steve breathes clenching his arms around his belly.

“C’mon, let’s get you some water.”

After spitting a mouthful of water to get rid of the taste of puke, Steve sips some more water and shares the rest with Bucky. They sit next to each other on a sidewalk, some fresh air hits them frequently and ruffles their hair and they’re thankful about it, they are thankful about so many things.

The sky is a beautiful painted canvas, orange sunlight and blue fragments blended perfectly into white clouds, and a purple hint of the night is falling upon all of them, mercilessly taking over the sunset.

“Come with me.” Bucky says as he gets on his feet.

 _Well, of course._ Steve thinks and follows his friend.

****

They are holding hands. Steve’s palms are sweaty but Bucky doesn’t seem to care, he just leads him into a small store with a huge sign on top: _ANIMAL NURSERY._

The place smells ghastly. There are all kinds of creatures in cages: porcupines, raccoons or goats. Some are being fed by children with milk bottles. Steve ends up with a Cocker Spaniel pup on his lap while a Beagle puppy licks Bucky’s face.

He remembers that time in the orphanage. Bucky came to their room from detention, his eyes were watery and he tried to shake it off. The nuns would hit the boys with a wooden stick if they misbehaved. In their room the first thing he found was his friend with a grin across his face. Bucky sniffled and wiped his cheeks from any sign of tears.

"What ya got there?" Bucky sniffled again.

"I did it." Steve moved the sheet that covered his small blanket fort. Bucky bent down to see under the table, there was a dirty dog sleeping calmly and moving his ears at their voices’ sound. "I fed him, too."

Bucky had been caught collecting the other kids' leftovers to feed the street dogs that often passed by, but Steve managed to complete their mission. The dog in their room was a surprise, though, or an achievement.

They named the dog Winston and they were able to keep him for two days before the nuns caught them and they had to say goodbye to their new friend.

****

Darkness has expanded throughout the magnitude of the sky. In Luna Park there are little lights that glow everywhere, they’re like stars on every corner of earth. The air smells like a blend of maple syrup, cinnamon and muffins. Their hands are still joined together, tight as if they might lose each other in any minute.

 

| 

   
  
---|---  
  
Steve had to calm himself a few times after accepting when Bucky asked him sympathetically if going to Wonder Wheel was okay. Both can feel heat between their chests as they are sitting in front of each other in the Ferris wheel’s car.

The ride begins and Steve doesn’t fear when the car tilts and slides. They exchange a few words but they’re insignificant for Steve is lost in Bucky’s eyes, they have a special glow tonight and the way he smiles with a pouty mouth makes him smile too.

“Look.” James says and points to the sky.

Tiny diamonds are falling in an explosion of colorful flowers made of flames. There is crackling and cheering noises. Blue, white and red decorate the huge canvas. Steve loses his breath and there is an electric impulse, it starts in his spine and jerks him enough to lean in, his hand rests on Bucky’s jawline and Steve kisses the corner of his lips.  

It’s a short moment of tender bliss.

Bucky beams and looks away, maybe because his cheeks are flushed in a pretty shade of pink. Steve’s stomach feels worse than earlier on the Cyclone; he releases the breath he had been holding in his weak lungs. Bucky brings a hand up to Steve’s face and his thumb strokes his cheekbone.

“Don’t ever change.” 


End file.
